"Talking"
"Thinking"
-Telepathisis-
Flashback
-x-x-x-x-
Chapter Twenty-One
Deadlines and Undead
"Why..." I stop to regain control of my voice. "Why wait 'til now?"
She sighs softly. "For starters, the reason I'm still even alive..." She stops. "I only remember when I hit a certain day after I turn sixteen."
"...what d'you...?" I stare; I suddenly recall that the last time I saw her in the Fire Demon Kingdom, she looked exactly as she did now. "But, you're..."
"Exactly."
0x0x0x0
"Kurama, what're you-?"
"Let those two handle it." The other person in the room comments as they take a step back and lean casually against the wall. "Afore ya make yer decision, ya might wanna take a look over there."
All eyes travel to the piece of creature in a corner; it's looks are confused, as though it was in the process of shifting between faces.
"Meet Charlene. She was always determined to get at Youko. Never found out why..." The stranger adds. Kurama rises stiffly from his seat and approaches Kimi; she tries to back away, but the whip around her neck restricts movement.
Said fox demon calmly removes it. "It's her. Copying someone's personal scent is nearly impossible." "Ki-" He breaks off, realizing that she is no longer standing there.
Sora sighs. "She probably went to scout the parameters..."
Artemis blinks. "...why would she know the parameters of any of Youko's old hideouts?"
The stranger smirks. "Try asking her when she returns."
"Hang on." Sora steps in front of the girl as she moves to follow the path Kimi took. "I appreciate your help but...who are you?"
She grins. "I? I am Kurai Misaki."
"So why are you here?" Artemis asks as the others exchange glances. "I thought you disliked demon world." Despite the calm tone she uses, all of the boys can tell that she dislikes Kurai.
The humans yawns. "I still dislike it...but I cannot allow Kimi to have all the fun."
"Fun?" Sora cries. Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara decide to ignore their discussion in favor of planning a way to get around the zombies.
"The Fire Demon Kingdom was my home as well, Kuronue." Kurai states.
"Impossible." He snaps. "Kurai Misaki was human."
"As am I."
"It's a long story." Kimi states as she reenters the room; they can tell she is still shaken, but a semblance of calm has returned to her.
"If you need my assistance..."
"I will be sure to ask, Kurai." The bluette replies firmly. The human girl who appears no older than fourteen smiles before she wanders down a passageway and out of sight.
"Why send her away?" Artemis's voice is reluctant. "We...could have used her help."
"She was close to losing her temper, for one. And for another? She never liked Youko or Kuronue." The demoness mutters.
"Then why did she-"
"Either help us find a way out of here or shut up." Yusuke snaps as their discussion-turned-argument becomes louder. The three wordlessly exchange glances before taking over a couch.
"Anyway, does anyone know this area?"
"Vaguely..." Kurama murmurs, frowning.
Kuwabara finds a piece of paper and a writing stick. "Could you draw a map?"
The fox demon silently complies; the other three study the drawing when he's done and mark the area where zombies have been spotted.
"...we're surrounded." Kuwabara states as Kurama sits down, frowning.
Said fox demon turns to the silent peanut gallery. "What do you three know?"
Sora and Artemis glance at Kimi; she sighs. "I know how to get the hell outta here."
Yusuke glares. "And you didn't open your trap because...?"
"By now, I think you ought to know how I work: ask and, within reason, I'll tell." The ice demoness snaps. "At any rate, I'm not heading back."
"You almost got killed by one of them." Kurama retorts. "Are you stupid or suicidal?"
"Whether I live or die is of no concern to you, fox demon." She remarks coolly. "Try sneaking out the way they all came in."
All, after examination of the map, realize it will work.
"Let's go." Kurama rises.
Kimi stands and turns to walk out a separate exit; she pauses, biting her lip.
"Why do you persist in doing this alone?" The fox demon questions; after turning to face him, she notes everyone else has left.
"Because you don't remember; Kurai could care less; Sora and Kat are of the same mind as Kurai." Angered purple eyes meet his. "I'm the only one who gives a damn about what happens to this place and the spirits that remain here." She sighs softly, the anger draining out of her countenance. "I can't ask anyone else to risk dying for those already dead."
Green eyes survey her tiredly. "Just come back."
"Will do." She salutes him, a slight smirk curling her mouth, before darting off.
0x0x0x0
"Where's Kimi?" Sora questions as they stop for a break.
"Wherever she was headed." Kurama replies.
"What? I thought..." The other breaks off, smothering a frustrated growl.
"Forget it." Kuwabara mutters. "Let's just concentrate on getting home; let her worry about her." All freeze as they recognize that their behavior, while not blunt, has been subtly cold towards the ice demoness.
"Who...?" Sora mumbles, looking around.
"Simple: R-" Artemis hurriedly claps a hand over her mouth, mentally shrieking every curse she knows.
"Simple...?"
The dimilamia backs away, hand still over her mouth, as all of their eyes become a dried blood red. Artemis runs as they all lunge; the sound of the tree they struck splintering spurs her on. In her blind panic, she raced back down the passageway they just vacated. She crashes into something and finds that it's Kimi.
"Help!" She gasps out as their footsteps draw nearer.
Kimi looks her in the eye; the ice demoness's are a dried blood red.
0x0x0x0
Artemis snaps awake to find she is still inside Youko's hideout.
"About time you woke up." Kurama comments off-handedly; she looks around and finds that the others are not around.
"Why are we still-"
"Still?" A concerned frown tugs a Kurama's mouth. "We never left."
Something inside Artemis snaps. "If this fucker is gonna try and trick me, he has to do better than just imitating someone's looks." She snarls mentally, insulted. "Go to hell!" She snaps as the redhead's eyes become a nasty brown-red.
0x0x0x0
"C-Calm dow-" A familiar voice is cut off by a resounding click.
"S-Sora?" The girl realizes that it is her who 'silenced' him. "Sorry..."
"It's fine." Sora slurs, then makes a face as the blood from his bitten tongue hits his taste buds. "I've had worse."
"Here." She places to fingers on his chin; his tongue, which is bleeding, stops. "Where are we?"
He gives her an appreciative look. "We were separated from the others...there was some sort of rockslide..." He shrugs callously. "I'm not too sure they survived..."
Artemis tackles him, her hands wrapping around his throat as her blood hums through her veins. "Cut the shit." She hisses.
Wide blue eyes stare up at her. "A-Artemis?"
Sheer fury causes the hum of her blood to escalate to a roar; she cannot say why whatever this is taking Sora's form is irritating, but at the moment, she does not care. With a snarl, she snaps the imposter's neck before ripping into it. Her bloodlust calmed, she looks up and freezes; the eyes are still Sora's blue.
"Nice job." Hiei comments somewhere behind her; the eyes fade from blue to the customary red-brown. She turns to face her teammate; he calmly uses his jagan to pull them both from the illusion.
0x0x0x0
She snaps awake, rising swiftly to a sitting position to find that she is on one of the couches in Youko's hideout. "Son of a bitch." Artemis swears softly at the boys stare at her.
Sora is the first to recover. "That was fun, huh?"
"Not particularly." The black haired girl murmurs. "I would much rather avoid such messes in the future."
"Then don't almost say his name!" Sora explodes as the other four stare.
"So...we are back here?" The girl questions, turning to the peanut gallery.
"Back in a section of the hideout, yes." Kurama sighs. "When you collapsed, we decided it would be better to wait."
Sora glares at them all before flopping down on another piece of furniture to sulk, still griping under his breath; Yusuke and Kuwabara ignore him in favor of complaining about school; Kurama gives Artemis a 'help me out here?' look; she ignores it and hurriedly strikes up a conversation with the (discreetly) amused Hiei.
Kurama makes a vexed face before rising, then pausing.
A trap door near his feet pops open and a cautious blue haired head pops out.
"Phew..." Kimi murmurs with a sigh of relief; Kurama does not give her a chance to argue and helps her out of the passageway. "...thanks." She murmurs before sinking down on one of the couch cushions.
"Didja get in?" Yusuke questions.
Her face tightens. "Didn't have to."
"What d'you-"
"I could hear the screaming from the tunnel." She stops. "Not too sure how this happened..." She falls silent and stays silent as they decide now is a good time to find a portal nearby and get the hell out of here.
0x0x0x0
"You went to investigate?" Koenma yells. "I asked you to keep an eye out, not go looking for trouble!"
"Blame me. Go ahead. We know you want to and we know you will." Kimi retorts. "However, if you could hold off on my crucification long enough for me to try to fix something, I'd be mightily obliged."
The demigod considers her and the rest of his team, disquieted. All are drained, as though whatever happened took an immense toll on them; the toll is present the most in Kimi.
"No one will be 'crucified', as you so delicately put it. Whatever's going on can wait: all of you are exhausted and could use a break."
"Koenma-"
"All portals will be on lockdown until I say otherwise."
"What?" The room temperature lowers several degrees, startling the others out of their exhaustion-enduced hazes.
"You and the others are unfit to go on whatever crazy-"
"I only need Kat!" The demoness snaps. "I had no intention of dragging them along as is!"
"Will you come back and rest afterwards?"
"No, I have a triathalon to complete next."
"You have a day." The frustrated demigod states before spinning his chair around.
0x0x0x0
Kimi sighs, the last to enter the hallway, and turns towards the library.
"So that's it?"
She stops and turns, raising an eyebrow at Kurama.
"We're just tools to you, are we not?" The ire in his voice is unmistakable; something that could also be pain is there as well, but in buried undertones.
"Not. None of you can help with this and you're all worn out; there's no point in bringing you."
All glare; exhaustion and the relief that all had returned safely fade with her decision to rush back out there.
"Forget it." She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "Just...I'll see you guys later." With that, she walks away, shaking her head. The sour tempered group retreats to their rooms to clean up and take over the land of beds for the next ten years.
0x0x0x0
Kuwabara yawns and rolls out of bed, feeling extremely refreshed. He enters the kitchen and finds a bored Botan at the table amongst a large amount of breakfast.
"Yo." He yawns and plops down in the seat across from her. "What's up?"
"Nothing, really." A small yawn escapes her as well. "Want some?"
"Sure." Kuwabara thanks her, then digs in. Yusuke soon joins and digs in as well. Before long, everyone has migrated to the kitchen, though not all eat or sit with the group.
"You okay?" Sora inquires of Kurama; the fox demon nods, ignoring the questioning looks at his empty plate.
"If you'd actually talked, I'd've said you were lying through your teeth." Comments a familiar and droll voice as a tired, grit-encrusted Kimi marches into the kitchen. Kat, somber, silent and pale, follows.
"Hey." Sora greets in a neutral tone; the others nod or attempt to greet her through their mouthful of food.
"Remember." Kat states sternly.
"Believe me..." Dull purple eyes flicker to meet the gaze of everyone in the room. "I will."
A ghost of a smile moves across the other girl's face. "Good." Her task complete for now, she leaves.
"Something up?" Yusuke questions.
"Moreso than usual?" Kuwabara jokes.
Kimi sighs. "I plead the fifth 'til I've gotten cleaned up and feel halfway alive again...and 'til everyone's eaten."
0x0x0x0
Yusuke yawns and stretches. "So what's up?"
Everyone settles themselves as Kimi sinks down on the couch; despite the day of rest she had, she still appears wan. Artemis and Sora, seated together on the opposite sofa, frown.
"Of course." Kimi sighs mentally and decides to ignore her redhaired seatmate. "Well..." She pauses, chewing her lip as she fights the urge to push Kurama onto the floor. "I said I'd explain after everyone's eaten." The bluette arches an eyebrow at Kurama.
"I'm not hungry." The irritated fox demon shoots back.
She shrugs uncaringly. "Not my problem."
All sigh, roll their eyes or glare.
"That's..." Yusuke grumbles. "Man, what the hell?"
"Why did you need Kat, anyway?" Artemis interrupts.
Kimi sighs. "Remember the spell she cast on those skeletons chasing us last time?"
"Yeah, so what?" Kuwabara mutters.
"And, after I pummeled them, the said 'ow'. Kat and I brushed it off as a reflex...but it wasn't. The spell accidentally gave them the ability to feel pain despite not having a nervous system."
"This concerns us how?" Hiei murmurs after several moments of silence.
"The ones charging the barrier? That's them." She finishes calmly. "And that's precisely my point. They are not your responsibility."
"So they're yours?" Kurama questions icily.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, they are. I told you: I will not ask others to die for those already dead." She snaps. "This had nothing to do with any of you. Aside from it not being your responsibility, all of you were exhausted-especially you." Her glare focuses chiefly on Kurama.
"I'm fine."
"Yeah. And my skin is purple with orange polka dots."
"He hasn't eaten since we got back." Yusuke interrupts; all eyes travel to him.
"I told you-"
"Wait." Sora cuts in, rising from his comfy slouch. "Have you been dizzy, nauseous, had no appetite and a slight fever?"
Kimi blinks questioningly; Kurama shoots both 'Look's and ignores the question.
The blue eye'd boys lips curve in a triumphant smile. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"What?" Yusuke interrupts again as the others blink.
"If that's how he's feeling, he may want Botan or Kimi to make sure it's not ysterius mytreus..." The bat demon comments before leaning back against cushions.
Artemis, Botan and Kimi pale at the name of the bacterium.
Kurama sighs. "Alright...Botan?"
Kimi stands, unsure of why she is stung by his obvious bias towards the other healer, and the leaves the room.
The ferry girl rises as well, but it is only to pull a pack of cards from a nearby drawer; she then turns to Artemis. "Poker?"
"Certainly."
"Hey, hey, what about us?" Kuwabara and Yusuke join the game; Sora and Hiei elect to watch. The irritated and puzzled Kurama follows Kimi, not entirely sure what to make of Botan's behavior.
0x0x0x0
"Kimi?"
She turns, startled. "Hm?" She notes the look on his face. "Something up?"
"...Botan refused."
"...ah." "I do so love being a last resort." "'Kay." Both head to the infirmary and the redhead reluctantly sits on one of the starched hospital beds.
0x0x0x0
"So..." Artemis murmurs.
"Anyone know how to play poker?" Botan questions in a resigned tone; Yusuke makes a vague noise in reply as he and Kuwabara play go fish.
"Hm...gossip time?" Artemis inquires.
Botan grins. "Certainly."
Sora and Hiei exchange disturbed glances.
0x0x0x0
"Good news, bad news."
"And...?"
"Good news: it's not ysterius mytreus. Bad news? You're still sick."
"Probably just an infection." He murmurs.
"Some of your wounds reopened?"
The redhead shrugs and tries to relax himself as she checks all of his injuries. He soon finds himself struggling to keep his eyes open; his lack of food, rest and energy take a triple toll on him. Soon, the ice demoness has a lightly dozing fox demon resting on her shoulder.
"He really ought to take better care of himself..." She sighs as she rewraps a loose bandage. "Like I'm one to talk." A small smile tugs the corner of her mouth upwards as she ascertains that all his injuries have been treated. After laying him down on the bed, she places a spark of her energy on his wrists and forehead; for good measure, she places a cold compress over the spark on his forehead. Her final task is to place a glass of water on the table beside the bed; the bluette then goes in search of her own.
0x0x0x0
"Anything else I should know about?" I snap sarcastically. "Is Ze actually my second cousin twice removed's roommate's fiance's best friend's pet cat in disguise?"
"...no." She levels a disturbed look at me. "And, most emphatically, no."
"Good." I cross my arms and look away. "That damn thing follows me into the shower every time I'm over there."
"...I take it back. That could be him."
"Kurai!"
-x-x-x-x-
Uhm, yeah, finally updating. I probably won't manage the "once a week" update schedule again...but I will do my best to work on and update this more. I sincerely enjoy this story, I just...hit a snag. I don't much like the next part of the story and that's making it more than difficult to write.
Some revision may be in order.
'Til next time.
Emma